#Theism4Lent

Last week, I challenged Peter Rollins, a notorious Christian a/thiest, to give up atheism for Lent. Pete and I have had a bit of fun with each other on Twitter, which I plan to keep doing throughout Lent. Pete’s told me that he is writing a post on the subject for his blog, which should be up this week.

But in the midst of the fun we’ve been having, I also heard from Nate McKay on Facebook. Nate let me know that he’s an atheist, having giving up on Christianity in his late teens. But he took my challenge to Pete to heart, and he decided to give Christianity a try for Lent. He’s using my book, The Sacred Way, among others, and he’s blogging about his Lenten journey on his Tumblr. Here’s the intro to his first post, and I strongly encourage you to click through and read what else he’s written:

In the back of a bus, on a cloudy winter afternoon, was where I first confessed my disbelief in God. The year was 2008 and I was 19 years old, freshly plucked from a safe existence, under the care of my parents and their worldview. I was in a place that each young adult needs to experience in order to participate in ‘the real world’; a place that is cold and lonely, a period where definition is brought to the blurry but assured views of reality. At the time I was not only a Christian, but planning on entering the ministry and playing a central role in God’s plan for humanity. I had hoped to bring the gospel to a lost and hurting world and have a great time in the process. My relationship with God was a firmly placed reality, and one that needed to be defended. So what was it that revealed the cracks in the foundation? What was it that led me away from this relationship? It was the simple realization that my faith was never my own, but constructed for me.

Thanks for pointing us to Nate’s Lenten experiment. I, too, took up a “… for Lent” project and already I have come across a pastor who is doing a Kosher for Lent experiment. I plan to write a post this week highlight other projects that I am following and want to recommend to my readers.